Top 10 University of Utah athletes of all time

SALT LAKE CITY - The University of Utah has had some impressive sports eras in its history.

The Runnin’ Utes basketball team has gone through stretches of success that has led it to becoming the 12th winningest program in college basketball history. One of those eras led to an NCAA National Championship in 1944 and a 1947 NIT Championship when the NIT was a much more prestigous tournament.

The Utah “Red Rocks” Gymnastic team has an unprecedented history and continues to be one of the most preeminent programs in the country. It has won more national championships than any other program in gymnastics (10) and is the only program in college gymnastics to have appeared in all 30 National Championship meets. The Utah gymnastics program also holds the NCAA record for the largest dual meet crowd (15,558) and regular-season average attendance at 14,213 per home meet in 2009-2010 (the highest attendance average of any women’s team that year).

The Utah football team is currently in the midst of a historic era of pioneering success. The 2004 Utes were the original BCS Busters and helped open the doors to college football’s non-automatic qualifying teams. After winning the Fiesta Bowl that year, the Utes later went on to become the first non-BCS team to be invited to two BCS bowl games when they won the 2009 Sugar Bowl over Alabama. The football team’s recent success helped lead to an invitation to the Pac-12 Conference.

From those eras and many other successful ones throughout the Utah athletic department in sports like women’s basketball, skiing, swimming, softball and baseball, we have whittled down the Top 10 athletes in University of Utah history. In doing so, we’ve considered the athletes’ success while at the university of and the success they had after leaving. We’ve also considered the impact they had on the program they participated in and the university.

So without any further ado, here’s our list.

10. CJ Cron (Baseball, 2009-2011)Cron was the first ever first-round draft pick for the Utah baseball program when he was selected 17th overall by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2011. While at Utah, Cron was a two-time first-team All-American (2010 and 2011) and a freshman All-American in 2009.

Cron was a two-time Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist (the award is considered the Heisman Trophy of college baseball) and a 2011 Golden Spikes semifinalist (the award is given out by USA Baseball to the best amateur baseball player). He is also a two-time Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and set a new Utah record for career batting average at .396.

As a freshman in 2009, Cron was the only player in the country to get three hits in a single game off future No. 1 draft pick, Stephen Strasburg. If Cron can get healthy, he stands to have a promising professional career. At rookie-ball in Orem in 2011, he hit 13 home runs and drove in 34 runs in only 34 games amidst injuries that led to shoulder surgery at the end of the season.

9. Tom Chambers (Men’s Basketball, 1977-1981)Chambers likely had the most successful NBA career of any Ute in the history of the program. He was a four-time NBA All-Star during the late 80s and early 90s after being drafted by the San Diego Clippers eighth overall in the 1981 NBA draft.

While at Utah, Chambers was first-team all-WAC in 1981 and second-team all-WAC in 1979 and 1980. He currently ranks eighth on the Utes’ all-time scoring list. Chambers played for the San Diego Clippers, the Seattle SuperSonics, the Phoenix Suns, the Utah Jazz, the Charlotte Hornets and the Philadelphia 76ers. Chambers was also the MVP of the 1987 NBA All-Star Game. His No. 34 jersey was retired by the Phoenix Suns after scoring 20,049 career points in the NBA.

Although Chambers was a great player at Utah, his NBA career was far more impressive and unexpected. With the heaviest weighted criteria for our list being the performance of the athlete at Utah, Chambers is lower on our list than he might be if the athlete’s professional career was weighted more.

8. Kim Smith (Women’s Basketball, 2003-2006). Smith’s career at Utah is unprecedented. She was a four-time Mountain West Conference Player of the Year at Utah, only the second player in NCAA history to win a conference player of the year award all four years of their career.Smith is the Utes’ all-time leader in scoring, offensive rebounds and defensive rebounds. She is second all-time in program history in scoring average and field goals made. She also holds the single-season record for scoring and field goals made. She was a four-time honorable mention All-American and a third-team All-American in 2006. She is also the Mountain West Conference’s leading scorer (2,281).

Smith went on to a successful career in the WNBA after being drafted 13th overall by the Sacramento Monarchs in 2006.

7. Alex Smith (Football, 2002-2004)Smith may have been the most valuable athlete to his program of anyone on this list. After Smith took over as the starting quarterback in 2003, he went 21-1 and led the Utes to a 2004 Fiesta Bowl victory. He was named the co-offensive MVP of the game.

Smith made Urban Meyer’s spread offense extremely effective and helped open the spread offense era in college football. Smith and Meyer brought the spread offense (which is now seemingly run by everyone but the Utes) onto the national scene. Before then, the spread offense was considered a “gimmick” offense. He was the face of a pioneering movement in college football in two ways — advancing the spread of Meyer’s offense and knocking down the BCS wall that had long held non-automatic qualifying teams out of the national picture. Smith’s effectiveness at the helm of the Utah football program led him to be named the Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

Smith was the first pick in the NFL draft in 2005. He has struggled in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers, possibly due to the inconsistency of coaching situations surrounding him. He appears to be now on the right track, however, with Jim Harbaugh as his head coach.

6. Arnie Ferrin (Men’s Basketball, 1943-1948)

Ferrin led the Utes to both the 1944 NCAA title and the 1947 NIT Championship. Ferrin was a four-time All-American (1944, 1945, 1947 and 1948) and one of just seven Ute men to have his jersey retired. Ferrin was also the 1948 Final Four Most Outstanding Player and won the entire tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award in 1944.

Ferrin went on to have a very successful career in professional basketball, winning two NBA Championships with the Minneapolis Lakers.

5. Andrew Bogut (Men’s Basketball, 2003-2005)Bogut was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, following fellow Ute Alex Smith, who was the first overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. Utah remains the only school to ever produce a No. 1 draft pick in the NBA and the NFL in the same year.

Bogut is Utah’s only consensus National Player of the Year and led the nation in double-doubles in 2004-05. He only played two seasons at Utah before entering the NBA Draft but is still 29th on the Utes’ all-time scoring list.

Bogut is experiencing good success in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks. He was third in the balloting for the Rookie of the Year award in 2006. Injuries have set him back, but he is still widely considered one of the best scoring big men in the league.

4. Missy Marlowe (Gymnastics, 1989-1992)

Marlowe competed in the Olympics at the age of 17 before she even set foot on a mat at Utah. After she did, she won five individual national championships and led her team to two national championships as well.

Marlowe won the 1992 NCAA All-Around Championship and was widely considered one of the best athletes in the world when she was in her prime. She earned one perfect ten on vault, three on uneven bars, two on the balance beam and one on floor while a Ute. Marlowe was an All-American in all four years of competition at Utah.

Finally, maybe the most impressive accolade of Marlowe’s was the 1992 Broderick Cup she won as the nation’s top female athlete.

3. Andre Miller (Men’s Basketball, 1995-1999)Miller is so high on this list because of the impact he had on the program and the underrated career he’s had in the NBA since he left Utah. Miller was the best point guard in school history and helped the Utes reach some amazing heights.

Miller led the Utes to the 1998 National Championship Game, something that is much harder to do now than it was in the 40s when Ferrin did it, and would have possibly won a national title had he gotten more rest down the stretch of that magical run to San Antonio.

The most impressive part of that run may have been the way he shut down the heavily-favored Arizona Wildcats and their three high-flying guards: Mike Bibby, Miles Simon and Jason Terry. The Wildcats were the defending national champions and many experts were picking them to repeat before Miller led the Utes to a shocking 25-point throttling of Arizona. Miller recorded 18 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists in what was just the fourth triple-double in the recorded history of the NCAA tournament at the time. That performance is arguably the most impressive single-game performance in Utah sports history.

Miller was a two-time All-American and is tenth on the Utes’ all-time scoring list. His career is not best measured in numbers, however. Leadership was Miller’s greatest trait and remains so to this day as he plays with the NBA’s Denver Nuggets.

2. Keith Van Horn (Men’s Basketball, 1993-1997)Unlike Miller, Van Horn’s numbers were so overwhelming he had to be high on our list. Van Horn was a two-time All-American and two-time WAC Player of the Year. That would be impressive enough, but Van Horn is also the leading scorer (2,542) in the Utes’ storied history and the second leading rebounder (1,074). Van Horn was also ESPN’s National Player of the Year in 1997.

Who could forget Van Horn’s clutch performances in the 1997 WAC Tournament when he tipped in a game-winning shot on an inbounds pass with only 0.3 seconds left on the clock and followed that up with another buzzer beater the next night to beat New Mexico?

Van Horn had a solid career in the NBA after getting drafted second overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1997. His rights were immediately traded to New Jersey where he played for the Nets until 2002, getting into the franchise’s top ten in scoring, field goals made, 3-point field goals made and offensive and defensive rebounds. He also went on to play for the 76ers, the Knocks, the Bucks and the Mavericks.

1. Bill McGill (Men’s Basketball, 1959-1962)

McGill ranks just behind Van Horn on Utah’s all-time scoring list with 2,321 points but is No. 1 in career rebounds with 1,106. McGill also owns the single-season and single-game scoring records, scoring 1,009 points in 1961-62 and 60 points against BYU in 1962. He also holds the top four spots on the single-game scoring list, having also scored 53, 51 and 50 in games during the 1961-62 season.

There is no question McGill is the most successful athlete while at the school. He was a two-time All-American and led the nation in scoring, averaging 38.8 points per game in 1961-62. He also holds the Utah single-season rebounds record (430) and the single-game rebounds record (24).

McGill is one of seven Ute men to have his jersey hanging from the Huntsman Center ceiling. McGill’s professional career was short-lived, although he was the first overall pick in the 1962 NBA Draft. He played three seasons in the NBA followed by two seasons in the ABA, hampered all the while by a bum knee, something he refused to admit to coach Jack Gardner while at Utah. Ultimately it cost him a long-term NBA career, but at the end of the day McGill gets our nod due to his amazing career as a Ute.

Honorable Mentions

Christi Hager (Skier, one of two three-time repeat ski national champions in NCAA history), Steve Smith (Football, four-time Pro-Bowl selection for Carolina Panthers of the NFL), Eric Weddle (Football, just signed a record contract with the San Diego Chargers), Jamal Anderson (Football, eight seasons in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons), Theresa Kulikowski (Gymnastics, three national titles and voted one of Utah’s Top-25 female athletes of all-time), Julie Krommenhoek (Women’s Basketball, four-time All-American and Utes’ all-time leading scorer), Jeff Rolan (Swim, 50-yard butterfly national champion), Vern Gardner (Basketball), Scott Mitchell (Football), Frank Christensen (Football), Danny Vranes (Basketball), Chris Shelton (Baseball), Mike Anderson (Football), Kevin Dyson (Football), Andre Dyson (Football), Jordan Gross (Football), Charmelle Green (Softball), Sandy Rhea (Softball), Ron Coleman (Football), Mike Newlin (Basketball), Alex Jensen (Basketball), Mike Doleac (Basketball), Jeff Judkins (Basketball), Jeff Jonas (Basketball), Lori Parrish-Salvo (Women’s Basketball, Volleyball and Track), Greg Holmes (Tennis), Jim Osbourne (Tennis),Luther Ellis (Footbll), Kim Turner (Volleyball), George Theodore (Baseball), Lee Grosscup (Football), Larry Wilson (Football), Mac Speedie (Football), Brenda Barton-Whicker (Volleyball), Amy Kofoed (Soccer) Ali Andrus (Softball).

The author would like to thank Mike Lageshulte, who works in the Utah Athletic Department, Bill Marcroft, the long-time voice of the Utes, and Bruce Woodbury, a long-time member of the Utah Athletic Department, for helping to compile this list.

Trevor Amicone is the sports director at 88.1 Weber FM "Ogden's Radio Station" and host of the sports talk radio show, "Fully Loaded Sports with Trevor Amicone". Find more of his blogs at TrevorsTopTens.com. Follow him on Twitter at @TrevorAmicone

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